Tuesday, 03 February 2015

Hmmmm Bruno and Pho King, there's surely a joke in there somewhere. Can't think of one right now, so onward with the post.

Pizzeria Bruno:

It had been almost a year since I'd been here and I was really wanting a pizza....the Missus is still not doing the bread thing, so I was on my own. I held out for a couple of weeks before giving in.

They must be doing well, as there were at least 5 people working on a Sunday, at 4pm.

My memory must be going as I don't recall seeing Belgians on the drink list before. I was quite happy to order a La Chouffe, mild spice, yeasty, just boozy and sweet enough for me. My server was a very chipper young lady...quite enthusiastic and all.....

Being a creature of habit, I ordered the Diavolo, subbing soppressata for pepperoni. It arrived in all it's yeasty charred glory soon after.

I must really be getting old because this just seemed larger than I remembered...ah, this cursed old age thing.

Man, loved the smoky charred crust, the slightly spicy and vinegary goat peppers....I did notice that the soppressata tasted a bit different, not as rich and full of lovely oiliness as before....but it could be that old age thing, right?

I could only finish half the pie and took the rest home. The Missus got home from work and said "that smells so good...." Knowing that She doesn't do the bread thing I told Her, "help yourself....he-he-he...."

I got out of the shower and She had a smug smile on Her face....so I headed straight to the pizza box and opened it....yikes!!! She had cockroached all the toppings! Teach me to tempt Her, right?

Pizzeria Bruno4207 Park BlvdSan Diego, CA 92103

Aaah, I know why I put these two together mentally. While at Bruno, these two huge Italian guys walked in, pinky rings and all. Man, they had it down, talking to each other in Italian....until I was walking out and they were having a little "PDA".....

So maybe they should have gotten a room or at least gone to....

Pho King:

Yeah, yeah....ok, enough with the jokes. I don't think I've posted on the place in over a year, so I'm due right? Man, they were pretty busy.....

I decided to order my usual and get some wings as well......

In retrospect, not the best move....these tasted of rancid oil, were fried "naked", but were on the mushy side, and really lacked flavor. Very large, meaty, and moist though. Ah yes...Pho King Wings....

My usual Hu Tieu Mi Kho did much better.

I love the sweet-porky soy and the combination of noodles on this. Which I've done posts on several times.

And on the good side, no one asked me for money. Like I noted in my Tu Thanh post, on my last visit in August, some dude asked me for money twice, once when entering and once when leaving the place...then I saw him looking into my car windows...sheeesh. Happy not have to deal with that, which kind of kept me away from the place. Guess I'll head back again soon.

Monday, 02 February 2015

Funny, I always almost say "lavage" when I read the sign....not the most appetizing word. A couple of weeks ago FOY "Janfrederick" mentioned that Pho Viet Cali was no more in the comments of this post. I had always thought Viet Cali really made a mediocre and over priced bowl of pho. One day I had meetings fairly close by so I decided to drop by.

I forgot how large the restaurant was.

I liked the menu; which seemed to have quite a few dishes that I enjoy. On this visit, though, I decided just to go with the pho. As I usually do, I just went with the dac biet since it gives me a nice picture into how the various proteins are prepped. At $6.95 for a small bowl, it ain't cheap. It was even smaller than Viet Cali's seven dollar pho. The herbs were really skimpy and the lime had brown spots as did the basil. Also take a look at the size of the bowl of pho in comparison to the little plate of garnishes.

All comparisons to Viet Cali stopped at the price. This was a pretty good bowl. The broth was fairly dark, yet clear. It had decent fat/oil and a very light anise flavor, with a more pronounced onion thing going on. Not quite as good as Pho Lucky on a good day, but ok.

The meats were fine, one piece of the rare steak had a metallic taste to it. Most of it was unremarkable and there wasn't much of it either.

The one thing that was a pleasant surprise were how the noodles were prepped. This wasn't your usual clump of mushy, over cooked noodles. No, the noodles had been separated and were just perfect in texture.

Also, the folks who run this place; I'm thinking it's a family of four are really, very, very, nice. It made me want to return in spite of the rather low value level. So I dropped by the next chance I had and tried a couple of the appetizers I'd seen.

The Lavang Fried Chicken Wings ($8.95). It was a pretty little plate.

The sautéed peppers and onions brought very little to the dish in terms of flavor. The wings were he small type; which I actually kind of like since it makes for the perfect bite; a combination of crisp batter/skin/meat. This was adequately fried, but the sauce was way too sweet for me, without a nice savory punch that I would expect.

Wrapped too tight and hard, too much filler, the nem nuong was very bland and lost in everything. Could have used more herbs....oh and that sauce was watery and bland as well.

One evening a week or so later, I decided to drop by. The special that evening was one of my favorite dishes; Banh Mi Bo Kho ($7.95).

In some ways this was a pretty good version; lots of meat, the baguette nice and warm, the carrots perfect, not overcooked and mushy. I would have enjoyed a bit more anise tones and tanginess, but I know folks who don't. A good amount of black pepper in this and the broth was on the thin side....again, personal preferences at work. Like I said, tons of meat, cooked well, but not enough tendon for my taste. It is perhaps a bit more refined than the thick, rustic version I prefer.

But heck, this isn't bad by any means.

The owner told me to come back and try the Bo Luc Lac, so of course one evening, when the Missus was working, I dropped by to try it ($11.95).

Like some of the other dishes; the ingredients are done fairly well, the beef was adequately tender, but this fell short in the flavor category. I prefer mine with a more assertive sweet-savory flavor and this was really mild. Strangely, the rice was terrible...very hard.

The best part of the whole meal was the broth, which had such nice depth of flavor.

Just enough salt...this had that aaaah appeal. I guess I better return for other soups in the future.

I did return one more time for the Grilled Beef spicy Mango Salad ($9.95).

Again, nice try, but no cigar. The beef was tender, but on the mild side......the flavor of sesame oil was a bit too strong. The salad portion was nice, but again too much sesame flavor. I'd have enjoyed something with a stronger fish sauce flavor.

Like I said, the folks here are very, very, nice. I can see that they are trying for a more refined product, and while it shows in some of the prep, things just seem to miss the mark. I did notice that the two customers on the table in back of me were whining about how "greasy" the pho looked (meanwhile the Vietnamese on the table next to them just laughed - gringos wanting gringo pho)....I guess folks are really getting used to the MSG loaded, totally defatted, mediocre pho like they serve on Convoy. And while I admire the effort, the place just kind of falls short......

Wednesday, 28 January 2015

Look at you, right back here at mmm-yoso!!! probably looking for food blogging. Kirk and Ed (from Yuma) are each busy with 'research' for future posts and Cathy is writing today, with 'results'.

Mission Gorge Road, just North of Interstate 8 is a mish-mash of businesses. Bookended by Starbucks, surrounding new and used car dealerships, banks, drug stores, numerous fast food drive thru lanes, a pizza parlor, sit down restaurants, a great vegan donut shop, as well as a Kaiser Hospital and Clinic. There are also more than several Purveyors ofadult beverageswhich also sell foodin this area of town.JT's is located closest to the Interstate, on the East side, just across from Rose Toyota and a few blocks South of Iowa Meat farms (sister of Seisel's Meats). The plain exterior is not a signal of things to come. The bar area has seemingly endless adult beverage choices, numerous televisions, seating and there are pool and ping pong tables in the back. There are several chalkboards mentioning beer specials, or you can ask. Menus are on tables. You walk up to the bar to order. Always on the lookout for specials, the back of the menu is usually what I read first.However, the bottom of the front page caught my eye on our first visit- beef from Iowa Meat Farms. Ground fresh daily.Here are the center pages, if you are interested. Don't pay too much attention though...the menu is going to be changing up soon. The same talented people who make the wonderful food I'm about to show you will be working on a new menu with all fresh (as in nothing frozen) items. Currently, the potstickers and fries and tots are frozen items. Basic Burger (cooked to a perfect medium rare, as I had ordered) ($8). Served on a fresh, toasted bun with crispy lettuce, tomato and onion, this is one of the best I've had in a while. It's 1/2 pound before cooking.Since it was a Monday, the $3 wings were calling. Medium Buffalo and Teriyaki were our chosen flavors this visit. The wings were meaty, fried crispy and the flavors not overwhelming (the Teriyaki was not sweet, a plus in my book).Another visit, on a Friday, had The Mister ordering a 16 ounce Cream Ale from (local) Mother Earth Brewing ($5).Friday Fish Sandwich ($6.25) was quite large, with the cheese melted into the bun, a nice touch. The fish was moist and the batter light, almost fluffy crispy. The cole slaw here is excellent, by the way.Sides can be fries, tots, slaw or a side salad. You can see fresh mushrooms on the salad, since they use fresh mushrooms for the beer battered mushroom basket. This visit, The Mister ordered the bacon and Bleu burger ($9.25). Again, the cheese melted into the bun-toasty bleu cheese...so good. You can see the bacon and now can imagine how good it was. It was, it was.

Monday, 24 November 2014

In just little under a month, Yakitori Taisho has become a regular part of our rotation. We like the mellow ambiance of the place, the rather cozy, somewhat intimate (12seats)interior....and of course the yakitori! The Chef is quite skilled, aided by just one helper and the waiter/server.......I can imagine it must be nuts if the place is packed......which it has not been during our visits. The Chef is a really nice guy, somewhat reserved, but very friendly once he gets to know you. He is from Nagoya,a classically trained Yakitori-man. Nagoya is quite significant here....especially for one of the dishes below. He really started opening up when we started chatting about Nagoya Cochin, the special breed of chicken Nagoya is famous for.....also for lively discussion on torisashi, basashi, okonomiyaki (he is a fan of Hiroshima style, while the Missus argues for Osaka style), and other things......

I'm going to list our favorites in descending order.....excluding the items I've posted on already. I will say, the buta-shiso, tsukune, and teba are at the top of our list, so hopefully you've read that post.

The Beef Tongue:

Shades of Tanyaki Shinobu, this wonderful piece of braised, then grilled tongue would fit right in....

All the classic flavors in one bite. The exterior of the tongue has a touch if crispness from being grilled over the bincho which also adds just a hint of smoke flavor. This is one heck of a piece of meat on a stick. They don't always have it since I was told it takes a bit of time to make. You'll find it on the specials board.

Aka Himo (chicken vein):

I love the slightly chewy texture and this is full of flavor from both the bincho and the dip in the tare.

Kimo (chicken liver):

I'm not a fan, but the Missus just loves this.

On the other hand, I love the....

Sunagimo (gizzards):

For some reason, the gizzards here seem to absorb a nice amount of smokey flavor and it has just the right amount of "crunch" for me.

No miso based sauce on this, but the other qualities of Nagoya-teba was present.....a generous amount of black pepper and sesame seeds. Fried very nicely, crisp and light, touched with a nice sweet-soy; what's not to like?

Chicken Karaage:

Well, of course. A bit lighter than the version at Yakyudori, this has a more pronounced ginger flavor.

A very nice rendition......

The Shiitake:

Was nice and meaty, the katsuobushi adding another layer of savory flavors.

The Aspara Bacon:

Was fine. Pretty much by the book.

Not quite sure why the Missus loves quail eggs so much.

Mekabu with quail egg:

Lovely gooeyness, with a mellow ocean flavor. I'm told that mekabu comes from the base of the sea flora from which wakame grows.

The one item which we felt did not quite reach the heights we wanted was the yaki nasu.

The eggplant just didn't seem to have absorbed any of the bincho flavor and was on the bland side.

Nagoya is known for their chicken, so we fully expected the yakitori to be pretty good....it's that beef tongue which really surprised us. In combination with the other items that are our favorite here, we have a pretty nice rotation going.

We enjoy the almost one-on-one experience here, it's much more personal. Though, like I said, I'm not sure how things are when they're busy. The robata dishes here tend to be less salty than Yakyudori and a bit more refined. And no, it's not a loud and roaring place to grab brews and meat-on-a-stick with coworkers.......which makes it nice for date night. Which we've been having quite often lately.

Saturday, 22 November 2014

A few night back, I met my good friend Candice for dinner....she had been wanting to check out Iron Pig Alehouse in PB. It was a decent meal, hopefully I'll get around to doing a post, but in case you're wondering, Kirbie pretty much hit it on the head in her post, the wings were our favorite item. I brought some home for the Missus who thought they were good....however, She also said, "I think you can do better...." So guess what I did this afternoon? Anyway, I tried three versions of smoked wings, one with a simple seasoning, the other with my "chicken rub", and for the last....well, I decided to go outside the normal playbook a bit and used my Shio Koji Chicken marinade.

Guess which one won out?

It was a pretty simple and quick smoke in my WSM. I used a combo of cherry with a bit of pecan. When the wings were done, they looked quite similar, but the shio koji wings had a very pronounced savory fragrance, think miso-wine.

I decided to give the wings a quick deep-fry....for the shio koji wings, it was about 90 seconds....the sugars cause it to turn black fairly quickly. I'm going to try to figure out how to get these a bit more crisp without burning.....

In the meantime......

The Missus said this was maybe some of the best wings She's ever had. The shio koji adds that amazing savory flavor, a touch of salty-winey-miso like flavors, and also sealed in the juices. It's also got me motivated to start cooking new stuff........thinking a bit, trying different things again.

The best compliment....."I'd pay money to eat this....ummm, not from you of course, but I would....."

Tuesday, 30 September 2014

Hidden behind the Convoy institution that is Chopstix, this tiny little place is easy to miss. I'm really not the Min Sok Chon, Thang Thang, soju bomb kind of guy, but I got a few recommendations from folks I knew. Though I still had reservations because when I quizzed these folks on the food, the standard answer usually included big portions, and not remembering much because they were...shall we say.....taste deadened and mush minded from overindulging a bit?

It is a pretty small and somewhat cozy kind of place. There are only 5 beers on tap. The main drink of choice for most of the young people who go here are the flavors of soju...."white gummy bear"???

The bartender/server on both of my visits was a very nice and friendly young woman named Nancy...very calm, very chill.

The menu is full of what I call "Kogi-truckish" dishes...you know, bulgogi tacos, bulgogi quesadillas, bulgogi fries, stuff that's already kind of passe'

The dining area is set-up like one of those faux outdoor porch type of restaurants. A acquaintance of mine actually knew the Korean name of that style of set-up....but you know; old age and all that. I just can't seem to remember the term right now.

There's actually one reason I came to Nolbu...the Korean Spicy Wings ($8.99). Almost everyone I spoke to mentioned these wings, though none could not really tell me much about the flavor.

The wings are quite large, the flavor as you can imagine is based on kochujang and almost tastes like my Spicy Misoyaki without as much bean paste. It is indeed a basic sweet chili sauce...sticky, more sweet than spicy, perhaps in need of a bit more complexity. maybe a bit more sour/tart, or savory-garlic tones. The batter was nice at first, perhaps a bit too thick, but still crunchy, but it got really gummy in minutes. Not terrible....but definitely not... Kyochon by any stretch. In fact, this eerily reminded me of the stuff they used to serve at BBQ Chicken, though not nearly as crunchy.

I also decided to try the mandu ("Dumplings" on the menu - $6.99).

These weren't very good in my opinion, too much cabbage filler, the sauce also tasted watered down. The wrapper were decent, but I'd take a pass on these next time.

Overall, not bad and as always I thought a return visit should be done.

One funny thing; when I was waiting for my drink a guy walked in laden with bags....shopping for supplies I'd guess. All the plastic bags were from Zion Market! I guess that's where they do their shopping? I really think stuff like that should be done via the rear entrance.

This time I came with my friends YummyYummy and Candice. We had the spicy wings again, which were a bit better this time...less sickly sweet and the texture held up a bit better.

We also had the haemul pajeon - the seafood pancake ($12.99), a bit small for the price.

But with a pretty generous amount of well.....Zion Seafood probably..... I will say that in terms of texture it was less gummy and a bit lighter than what I'd had at Common Theory, though it was 2/3 the size.

I also wanted to try the Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings ($8.99).

A bit light in flavor, these wings swere pretty straight-forward...basically naked, without a coating, but not bad....I'd have these again, as these were nicely fried.

The same five beers on tap; my favorite being the Stone Arbalest since I do enjoy tripels, quads, and Belgian strongs. this one was pretty good, light citrus-woody flavor with a mildly boozy-hoppy finish.

While waiting for my friends to meet me, the same young man walked in ladened with plastic bags....again from Zion Market.

Anyway, in terms of food, this place serves up a more Asian flavor than Common Theory. I was surprised that the food wasn't as salty as, say Min Sok Chon. They do have a decent bottle collection, but only five draft beers and the temps on my second visit seemed a bit off. As much as I like the folks working here, there's really no working knowledge of the beer they're serving...it's more of soju service. As in the version of an umbrella drink - soju served up in a half watermelon.

That said; I might drop in again for some wings and a beer.....if I feel like eating groceries from Zion....

Monday, 29 September 2014

Common Theory Public House, which opened and created some nice buzz a couple of months ago is one of those places that leaves me torn. There's so much about the place I really like.

I love the lay-out, the folks manning the bar are usually really nice.....especially "Dave" who has been there on most of our visits. Yep, we....this is the Missus' favorite place for Happy Hour, they've (usually) got a nice selection, though I wish they'd keep more up to date lists on Tap Hunter or their website. One of the partners, Cris is the nicest guy ever and they've got an awesome progressive happy hour which starts with three bucks off draft beers starting at 3pm.

Any issues I have with the place is based around their food....though admittedly, much of the bar grub in San Diego is pretty basic stuff. After trying some of the regular menu items, we decided to stick with Happy Hour. And while there are a few "Asian" influenced dishes on the menu; it is heavy on the fried stuff. Now all of the above is fine with me; it is reasonable and perhaps in the business sense, realistic. To us, and we've been here over a dozen times is that the same dish can vary wildly from visit to visit.

The Missus really only orders two things here, the first being the truffle-duck fat fries, which is a nice happy hour bargain at five bucks.

It can run the gamut; never terrible, but different every time. One the visit above, the fragrance of truffle was rich, the duck comfit moist, the fries limp, and it was way too salty.

The next time the confit was dry, it was barely salted and it seems that the truffle flavor was AWOL. Then there are times when they get it so close.

Doesn't that look like two different dishes....crisp fries, nice truflle flavor, the confit was on the dry side but fine....where was the salt?

The one item we sometimes get that has never let us down are the pickled eggs......

The eggs are fine; it's that pickled watermelon rind, with a anise flavor that just raises it.

The Missus favorite by far are the Truffle Duck Fat Chips, it is usually nice and crisp.

The one item on the dish that always seems different is the cotija-garlic bechamel like cream sauce. Once or twice it has been close to perfect. That's the one in the photo. At other times it has been too salty, or totally lacking in flavor, we could barely make out the garlic in the sauce.

I actually thought the white corn tamales were not bad...moist, nice pork flavor. Not bad at all.

I understand that Cris's Mom makes these.

So, as you can see, it's about the beer here for us...and who's going to complain when you can get a Liefmans Oud Bruin for four bucks? Or a Three Philosohper's?

Still, these were pretty good, nice flavor, crisp, moist, it could have used a bit more garlic...and MSG.... Which I mentioned to Cris, who laughed and described to me the story of his cousin coming over and trying to teach the chef how to make these, handing him some MSG. The chef had never, ever used the stuff in his career and really didn't know what to do with it. I thought these were good enough to mentioned that this might be the best version North of the 94.

Until my next visit at lunchtime with a good friend of mine. The wings were greasy, flavorless, not very crisp. I recently tried them again with the Missus.

What we got was sort of a "tweener". Also, it was now 4 wings for 5 bucks which didn't seem like such a good deal. The batter was hard instead of crisp and like the Missus said, "it needed some zip".

There were a few weeks where it seemed that the usual selection of beers - up to 32 taps seemed a bit out of alignment. On one visit there were 5 Porters or Stouts, on another 10 IPA's...I know, this is San Diego, but man, a third of your taps? Recently things seemed to be balanced a bit better, but they are still a bit short with regards to sours...at least in the Missus's opinion.

Here are a few other menu items I tried.

This is the beast they call the Bourbon Bacon Wrapped "Corn" Dog.

Good God, who hired Chicken Charlie? This is basically a battered and deep fried smoked garlic sausage. For some reason the deep frying and the batter does this no favors as it just really muddles all the flavors.

I tried the Hellfire Wings, which weren't very spicy; pretty much kicked up Buffalo style wings.

Not bad, but not memorable either.

The Chorizo Scotch Quail Eggs were hard and dry.

Something that I don't think is on the menu anymore is the Korean Seafood Pancake - Haemul Pajeon.

It was a bit short on seafood and more gummy than I prefer, but that classic soy based dipping sauce just made you want to keep on eating the thing.

Like I said, there's a lot to like about Common Theory. It's a really nice spot run by super nice folks. Polling all my good friends we came to the same conclusion; this place could really be a special spot if they got their kitchen and menu in order.

I hope that day will come soon. Until then, we'll still be coming for Happy Hour, it's the Missus' favorite watering hole......she;s happy with a Monk's Cafe, Hitachino Nest, or the place's best seller, Avery White Rascal.

So, the Missus has become a big fan of the Tap Hunter app. I guess She's now an offical Beer Geek. Anyway, there are places that are real good at keeping Tap Hunter up to date and places that are kind of blase'.....Common Theory, I'm looking at you. For all its short-comings, mainly food-related, The High Dive seems to do a good job keeping things updated. Recently, when the Missus was busy with work, She noticed that one of our favorite beers, La Fin du Monde was on tap. I was ordered to head on down and report back post-haste.

And of course, when I arrived, it was there, poised and ready. There's some flavors with "La Fin" that we enjoy, a mild fruit, with flavors that seem like clove and other spices, which make it fine match with spicy food for us. The flavors seem to go really well with anything I make with ghost peppers, strange as that may seem.

This draft version seemed a bit lighter without the spice notes. Maybe for the first time, I preferred the bottle to the tap....weird.

I Buffalo Wings were adequate and by the book. Nothing to make them stand out, but no complaints.

I thought it was a bit too heavy in the sour end and the wings were fried way past well done, but that would be nitpicking.

High Dive Bar and Grill1801 Morena BlvdSan Diego, CA 92110

Getting my "loco fix" at Island Style Cafe:

It was time for my bi-annual locomoco fix......well, strangely, it would be the first "loco" I had this year. I've got some catching up to do! Anyway, I went with the Kaloko Loco at Island Style Cafe. A rather unconventional Loco Moco; usually I'm not a fan of fried rice for my loco and this one even has a crepe, but it all seems to work out for me.

Like my good FOY CAB says, there's an interesting, yet complimentary interplay of sweet with savory going on that I enjoy. The eggs were overcooked for "over-easy" on this visit and I've kind of gotten used to jasmine rice so the calrose got my attention....I gotta head back home for an attitude adjustment soon! I think the burger here is still too tough and lean, but that's nit-picking as this is still my favorite loco moco in San Diego.

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

When the Missus needs something from Zion Market on the weekend, I'll go right when they open. I really never paid much attention to the food court during these morning visits until I was a bit hungry one day and was surprised to see the Spotted Cow open for business.

I really hadn't been overly impressed on my previous visits, but being a bit hungry I thought it would a good time to try the food again. Instead of the items I had before, I decided to go with the "Mi"; egg noodle soup. The young man working was very nice and efficient. I was surprised to see all that cilantro and scallions floating at the top of my bowl.

The broth and the herbs was pretty much what I expected, lacking in savory flavors and salty (broth) and fairly sparse (herbs and veggies).

What really surprised me was the amount of char siu in this bowl....my goodness. Not the best pork, a bit light in flavor and some rather overly chewy bits. But for a $6.95 bowl of noodle soup, this was probably the most I've ever seen in a bowl of egg noodle soup.

A very generous amount of egg noodles as well.....prepared quite well.

This might be the way to go here if you need a quick bite. Not a place to go out of the way for....but if you're hungry at 9am in the morning and are shopping at Zion Market, this might be ok. If ok will fill the bill.....

One evening, the Missus needed me to pick something up from Zion on the way home from work.

Looking at the Gala K(orean) F(ried) C(hicken) stand, I thought it would be a good chance to try the chicken again. It had been about a year since I tried the chicken here, they had just opened and I had hopes the execution was better.

I went for a regular order of wings ($7.99). I was told it would be about a 20 minute wait, so I went ahead and finished my shopping. By the time I was done, so were my wings. I went home and opened up my the styrofoam container.

The wings were still hot, the coating wasn't quite as crumbly as I recalled, and not greasy, though I still think the seasoning is on the bland side. The wing pieces were fine, but the drumettes kind of dry and tough. I turned over one of the pieces.....

Sigh...... If you read my earlier post, you might recall how the guy running the fryer kept poking and cutting into the chicken pieces during the cooking process. So the chicken is losing moisture, drying out..... I would think if your business is frying chicken and have been doing it for over a year, you'd know when it was done without having to cut into pieces.

That's it.... what more can I say? I think it's sad that a product would never hit full potential because of something like this. I also realize that it might not matter to you, but it does to me.